Confluence

The very own local cloud storage

Why I tried to make my own Local Cloud Storage?

• People nowadays are using more and more cloud storage for
  • backing up data
  • storage of files to save physical storage and many numerous reasons
• I, myself use many cloud storage applications like OneDrive, Google Drive and iCloud to backup or store all my data... the main reason behind is I do not want to rely on my physical drives and that I like portability (accessing my data through all/any devices)
• The biggest issue was that i had to sign in to the accounts and I agree thet it is a neccessary security measure but I don't need it when I'm home or on a trusted network and really want to eliminate all these protocols where I feel safe.
• Another issue was all of these so called "Services" offer only limited services and you have to PAY for extra storage, which frankly I hate.
• I know I could've used third party solutions or some of the repositories on GITHUB itself but I was curious how difficult will it be to make my own, also, I hate third party solutions...
• Not to mention most of the times my ADHD kicks in when I face any problems and I try to solve it myself (most of the attempts remain half completed, but whatever). So all of these reasons led to making my own local cloud storage Was it easy? No, Was it Worth it? YES!!!

Features

• The main feature is that it is LOCAL, so no need to worry about security and privacy. Also it can be ACCESSED from anywhere, just make sure you are on the same network.
• It is FREE and expandable (expand according to your needs), no need to pay for extra storage.
• It is OPEN SOURCE, so you can modify it to your needs.
• It is EASY to use, just run the script and you are good to go.
• It is FAST, it uses HTTP protocol to transfer files.
• It is PORTABLE, you can use it on any device with a browser.
• It does not require you to connect to Internet, so you can use it OFFLINE (you'll have to configure your server as well as router for that).

How to use it?

1. Installing Requirements

• Install Node.Js on your server (simply a pc/laptop which you want to make the main storage) from here
• Install Git on your server from here only if you want to clone the repository, otherwise you can download the zip file from repository.
• Inititialise the node project by running the following command in your terminal npm init
• Install express module for Node.Js by running the following command in your terminal npm install express
• Install multer module for Node.Js by running the following command in your terminal npm install multer
• Intall nodemon module for Node.Js by running the following command in your terminal npm install nodemon now let's move on to the next step

2. Configuring the server

• First try dry testing the server by running the following command in your terminal node server.js
• If you get no errors, then you are good to go, otherwise check the error and try to fix it.
• Now, open your browser and type [your ip address]:3000 in the address bar and hit enter.
  • You can find your ip address by running the following command in your terminal ipconfig or ifconfig (for linux users) Note: You'll have to edit the server.js file and select the ip address in case you have more that one network interface.
• Now you're good to go, you can now access your cloud storage from any device on the same network.

3. How to access it from other devices?

• Open your browser and type [your ip address]:3000 in the address bar and hit enter.
• You can downlod the files by clicking on the file name.
• You can upload the files by clicking on the upload button and selecting the file you want to upload.

Conclusion

• I know it is not the best solution out there, but it is MY solution and I'm proud of it.
• I'm still working on it and will try to improve it as much as I can.
• If you have any suggestions or improvements, feel free to contact me.
• If you want to contribute to this project, feel free to do so.

Scope of Improvement

• No service is perfect, so is this one, there are many improvements that can be made to this project, some of them are:
  • Adding a login page for security (though it's agsinst the main idea of this project)
  • Adding a database to store user data
  • Adding features like: drag and drop upload, deletion and viewing etc.
  • Adding a feature to download all the files in a zip file
  • Adding a feature to upload multiple files at once
  • Adding a feature to upload folders
  • Adding a feature to upload files from other cloud storage services like: OneDrive, Google Drive, iCloud etc.
  • Making it more efficient and secure

Donations

• If you like my work and want to support me, you can donate me on PayPal

License

MIT